Zucchini Cake made with freshly grated zucchini and a lovely blend of spices to create a perfectly sweet, simple sheet cake. Soft cake with great flavor topped with browned butter frosting for a delicious dessert!
Have lots of zucchini? SO DO WE! Check out our awesome collection of zucchini recipes here!
Zucchini Cake is one of my favorite desserts this time of year! I’ve made this cake for so many occasions and everyone loves it- even the zucchini skeptics. It’s a wonderful blend of spices and the browned butter frosting is just incredible.
Should I squeeze excess water out of my zucchini before making zucchini cake?
YES. Zucchini naturally has a lot of water in it. that becomes quite clear after grating it, if you simply leave it to rest for 5-10 minutes, the water will begin accumulating in the bowl! I like to squeeze as much out as possible before making it into zucchini cake. Interestingly enough, each zucchini is a bit different when it comes to water content. I find zucchini straight from my garden has quite a bit more water in it than zucchini from the grocery store. Both work well in this recipe! I say use what you’ve got!
Do you have to peel zucchini to make zucchini cake?
Nope! The peel on the outside of a zucchini is a lovely dark green and very tender. I just wash the zucchini, cut off the ends and then grate the entire vegetable using a cheese grater. It’s very simple to do and I love seeing the tiny flecks of green in the cake after it’s baked.
Zucchini Sheet Cake– Ingredients for an 11×15 pan
- 3 cups grated unpeeled zucchini
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cups white sugar
- 3/4 cups brown sugar
- 1 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 cup vegetable oil {can substitute applesauce}
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts {optional}
Frosting:
- 1 cup butter {do not use margarine!}
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup milk
How do you make a Zucchini Cake?
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease one 11×15 jelly roll pan.
- Grate zucchini & set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, white sugar, brown sugar, spices and salt in a large bowl until well blended. Beat the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl until smooth. Fold in the flour mixture, then stir in the zucchini and walnuts. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-32 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting and cutting.
- Frosting: In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook until butter turns a nice golden brown. It took mine 5-10 minutes and when it turned, it turned very suddenly. Remove from heat. Add in remaining ingredients, stirring until frosting is smooth and spreadable. Spread on cake immediately.
Zucchini Cake– Ingredients for an 9×13 pan
- 1.5 cups grated unpeeled zucchini
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 TBSP milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil {can substitute applesauce}
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts {optional}
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter {do not use margarine!}
- 2- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup milk
How do you make Zucchini Cake in a 9×13 pan?
Prepare cake batter as directed previously. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting and cutting.
EASY ZUCCHINI CAKE
Ingredients
Recipe for a 9×13 sheet cake
- 1.5 cups grated unpeeled zucchini
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 TBSP milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil {can substitute applesauce}
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts {optional}
Pourable Browned Butter Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter {do not use margarine!}
- 2- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup milk
Instructions
Cake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease one 9×13 pan.
- Grate zucchini & set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, white sugar, brown sugar, spices and salt in a large bowl until well blended. Beat the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl until smooth. Fold in the flour mixture, then stir in the zucchini and walnuts. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting and cutting.
Frosting Instructions
- In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook until butter turns a nice golden brown. It took mine 5-10 minutes and when it turned, it turned very suddenly.
- Remove from heat. Add in remaining ingredients, stirring until frosting is smooth and spreadable. Spread on cake immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you enjoy ZUCCHINI CAKE, you’ve got to check out our other incredible zucchini recipes:
- Best Ever Zucchini Bread
- Zucchini Sausage Soup
- Zucchini Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
- Garden Zucchini Chowder
- Low Fat Zucchini Cookies
Zucchini Cake made with freshly grated zucchini and a lovely blend of spices to create a perfectly sweet, simple sheet cake. Soft cake with great flavor topped with browned butter frosting for a delicious dessert!
Priti says
I am allergic to eggs. What can I replace it with?
Jessica says
I’ve heard you can replace eggs with applesauce or mashed banana!
Teresa Kofalk says
Ok, so I have a question. The first time the ingredients are listed it states 3 C zuch and 3 C flour as well as all the other goodies, but when you get down to the recipe towards the botto it now says 1.5 C Zuch and 1.5 C flour. That obviously is a huge discrepancy and wondered which one is correct? I am guessing the 3 Cups version! Thanks!
Jessica says
I made the measurements more clear in the printable recipe card. We gave 2 measurements depending on what size of sheet cake you wanted to make- hence one of the measurements being half the other. 😉 Hope this helps- this cake is AMAZING!
Jill Gurgos says
Absolutely delicious, thank you so much for sharing. Everyone enjoyed it – the 9 x 13 disappeared…next time I’ll have to make the 11 x 15 sheet cake.
Nellie says
You can never have too much cake!😉